Bryson DeChambeau‘s length off tee has reignited golf’s distance debate

Bryson DeChambeau hits off the 13th tee at The Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Picture: AFP

Bifurcation. Interesting word. Sounds like something you should treat with Zantac, or a ­bottle of tonic water, just to get the air up.

And like a pesky bout of indigestion, it has bubbled to the surface once again in the debate about just how far professional golfers are hitting the ball.

Bifurcation means the introduction of a two-tier system of rules. One for the elite, one for the regular Joes. A bit like life ­really. But in golf it is referring to equipment, specifically the ball. It’s an argument that has bounced around for the best part of 25 years, Jack Nicklaus being one of the loudest proponents of rolling back ball technology at the top level in order to reduce the prodigious distances players can hit it.

And the catalyst for the latest bout of hand-wringing about introducing a ball specifically made for the professional tours is ­Bryson DeChambeau.

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The 26-year-old American has always trodden a slightly different path in golf, relying heavily on science and mathematical equations in his approach to his equipment and indeed to his shot selection.

But after a disappointing 2019 that featured just one win, in Dubai in January, DeChambeau decided the best way to improve and win more tournaments was to hit the ball further. And to do that he had to go from mad scientist to incredible hulk. He bulked up, adding the best part of 20kg, increased his clubhead speed and achieved some amazing results. DeChambeau’s length off the tee has been the talk of the tour.

At the Memorial tournament last month he hit a drive 423 yards. He can carry a drive 350 yards through the air seemingly at will. And yes, he’s back to winning ways, taking out the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour in early July with a career-best 23-under-par.

It’s not that pretty to watch. His swing with the driver is not so much an attack on the golf ball as a blitzkrieg. It is nasty and brutish, but the results are certainly not short. 400-plus off the tee, ­seriously?

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates with the trophy after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit in early July. Picture: Getty Images

And sure as night follows day, other players will take note and follow suit. Which will leave us where?

The Old Course at St Andrews is set to host the British Open in 2022 and, if the wind doesn’t blow, with players hitting the ball that far, the Home of Golf will become the home of pitch and putt.

We’ve been here before. When Tiger Woods burst through the gates of professional golf his biggest advantage was his length off the tee. In response, the Tour took to Tiger-proofing its venues. Courses became a lot longer. But it didn’t really work. And Tiger’s success spawned a generation of young players who, partly through technology and partly through improved athleticism, learned to hit the ball ever further.

We can’t go down that path again, and Bryson-proofing doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, so if history teaches us anything, we’re going to run out of golf courses for the pros to play.

Conditioning and set-up can provide some courses with some protection. A bit of rough grown up, the greens a touch firmer and the pins tucked away.

That will never be the complete answer, but a Tour-spec ball could be. It could be designed to take, say, 10 per cent off the distance of a regular ball, which means some of the more traditional golf courses wouldn’t be obsoleted by distance and could be played more the way the ­designers intended. And guess what, it might even signal the rebirth of the long iron off the fairway rather than the modern, monotonous diet of driver, short-iron, birdie putt.

It’s not an argument that ­applies to us everyday hackers, there’s no need for a reduced distance ball in the club monthly medal. No 20-marker is going to overpower a golf course. Besides, that’s why we have the handicap system.

And to be honest, if we all tried to follow the DeChambeau method, the only beneficiaries would be the members of the ­institute of chiropractors and physiotherapists.

And it’s not an issue in the women’s game either, which is where, incidentally, we weekend players should be looking for lessons in tempo and game management. But it’s definitely turning into an issue at the top of the men’s game, where the power dial needs turning down a few notches.